Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

As I just said, every factual assertion in that question is not right. The government will continue with the national curriculum. It really amazes me—though I do understand that the member asking this question is still relatively new to the parliament—that this question would be asked by the opposition, when over 12 long years, despite persistent calls for a national curriculum, absolutely nothing got done. Absolutely nothing, to the great disadvantage of the 80,000 school children who move interstate each year and to the great disadvantage of Defence Force families, who frequently move during their child’s education, and to the great disadvantage of a nation that rightly wants to be assured that a quality, modern, relevant curriculum is being taught in every school in the country to give every child a great education. So whilst the Howard government slept through 12 years doing nothing profound on education reform—including, instead, trying to tweak the politics of education to get sector fighting with sector and to try to periodically get a run in the newspaper by criticising others in education—we have got on with the job of reform in the interests of Australian students. And the thing that has been on our mind is not the politics of education; it is every child in every school, what they are learning and what opportunity that gives them in life. In pursuit of that vision of a great quality education for every child in every school we will continue with the national curriculum, which is part of a broad suite of education reform that is there to lift standards in every school, particularly to make a difference for those children most at risk of falling behind. I would have thought the member, and the members opposite, could at least try to share that vision of a great quality education for every child.

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